I generally stick to residential but got a request for a bid today for a new WAWA down the street. I’ve never done new construction parking lots and could use some advice on how to bid and actually do the job.
Going out on a limb and saying I probably can’t charge my normal resi surface cleaning rate
I bid on a new convenience store/gas station with a ton of concrete. Didn’t get it. I did stop by there later on and noticed the person who won the bid had run a surface cleaner on the concrete. I could tell because they left SC marks and wand marks all over.
I wouldn’t be planning on using an SC unless you lower the pressure.
Am I looking at a simple soap and fan rinse then? I’m sure some mega company with four 10gpm’s has already snapped up the bid but just curious
well, if it is new concrete, can’t really run an SC on it without etching the snot out of it. High volume water. You could change nozzles on the surface cleaner and reduce pressure. I’m just thinking of all the gum you will have to pop with heat and pressure, might leave marks.
@Racer I think has reduced the nozzle pressure and used his SC on newer concrete, not sure, but I am sure he will have some valuable insights into this.
I use a pressure regulator on my surface cleaner to lower the pressure to clean new stuff…..works great.
How’s that raptor bar still working?
The whisper Wash Xforce bar is amazing…..absolutely love it. Still going strong.
got a pic or link? I don’t think I have seen this before.
is it like this? https://chappellsupply.com/pc_product_detail.asp?key=49768EA2938F4FFD8B46787EA3F3C581
Yes that’s basically it, just reduces pressure and discharges the water down under your surface cleaner deck. It works great, comes in handy for sure.
Ahh, ok, that’s right. The Xforce bar. I think the Raptor is Heath’s.
I don’t have castors, would that bypass still work with a floater? I feel like I’d have to drag it around
Thanks. I guess it allows you to ballpark it then, since the nozzles would still ultimately determine the pressure. So do you just keep your regular nozzles on and then when doing new concrete just bump it down? I really don’t need to buy anything else this year other than SH and fuel, but I’d like to own this. I’ve bought so much stuff the last couple of months my account is crying.
I respect a man who labels his tool drawers. My buddy can’t ever find anything in his tool boxes, even after I sorted through his box and made him buy a milwaukee packout with drawers. I hate installing pools with him and can’t find the tool i need.
You got any pics of the wawa? How old is the concrete?
Yeah, I keep normal nozzles in…..I just lower the pressure. I’ve done a lot of surfaces with it and it works great. I think it’s well worth it’s price, gives you piece of mind when doing surfaces that need a little babying. And I label everything by the way. 
Anything that can save me time I will do…..time is all we have, right…..it’s precious.
I drove by it yesterday, all they really have up is the gas pumps and concrete immediately around them, everything else is just dirt
so what do they need cleaned if not even open yet?
She said “and will soon need the parking lot pressure washed”
The only new construction work I’ve done has been residential. I was not prepared for how much caked-on mud and debris there would be. It would have gone much faster if I had thought to bring a shovel to break up and move the larger chunks out of the way before making everything a wet muddy mess.
